ISLAMABAD: The United Arab Emirates has lodged a trade complaint with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against Pakistan’s anti-dumping measures imposed on imports of plastic film, used in food packaging, printing, textiles and other applications.

The complainant asks for bilateral talks on the anti-dumping duties as an initial measure. UAE Ambassador to WTO Obaid Salem Saeed Nasser Al Zaabi has sent a formal letter to his Pakistani counterpart Syed Tauqir Shah seeking for fixing a date for consultation.

An official source in the commerce ministry told Dawn on Tuesday that the request for consultation is a two-step process—Pakistan will now respond to the request within 10 days.

The request from the UAE for bilateral consultations formally initiates a dispute in the WTO. Consultations give the parties an opportunity to discuss the matter and find a satisfactory solution without proceeding further with litigation.The official added both sides may not agree in consultation in this case, so the matter could well proceed to a dispute settlement body for setting up the panel, the period for which is 60 days. The UAE claims that the anti-dumping measures are inconsistent with various provisions of the WTO’s Anti-Dumping Agreement and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994.

In the year 2013, Pakistan’s National Tariff Commission (NTC) imposed definitive anti-dumping duties on import of biaxially-oriented polypropylene film (BOPP) from China, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The duty was extended in December 2016.

The step was taken after a complaint from a domestic manufacturer of BOPP was filed in 2010. The investigation was first halted through a court order but resumed again in April 2012.

A final determination imposing definitive anti-dumping duties was taken on Feb 4, 2013 and maintained again two years later on April 9, 2015. The duties were made effective from Aug 2012 onwards.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2018